Daughter's birth provided career-changing outlook for Bellator 121's Philipe Lins

Philipe Lins will make his Bellator MMA main-card debut on Friday as part of the Bellator 121 broadcast on Spike TV. With a win, the undefeated fighter will advance in the light heavyweight tournament and earn a spot in the semi-finals.

Those are all positive things, but for Lins, life hasn’t always been so easy.

Around one year ago, the 28-year-old was recovering from an injury that may have kept him away from the sport forever. That coupled with the birth of his first daughter made Lins reconsider if MMA is a career that can provide stability for his family.

“The roughest period of my life came just over a year ago around the time my baby girl Louise was born,” Lins told MMAjunkie. “I was suffering from an injury at the time and I wasn’t sure if I was going to be fighting for Bellator. My future was uncertain, and that meant my family’s future was uncertain. That didn’t sit well with me.”

Fortunately for Lins, instead of being discouraged, he decided to overcome the adversity in his life and find a way to make the situation work for everyone involved.

“That feeling of uncertainty gave me the desire to overcome the injury fast and return to the cage to provide for my family,” Lins said. “That was a moment in my life where I had to decide whether I was going to sink or swim, and I chose to swim. It definitely made me stronger as a man.”

Lins says the time off changed his perspective on fighting and why it’s important to his life. He once competed purely to pursue being the best, but now he is also driven by the need to support his wife and daughter.

“I always had a dream to fight inside the cage since I was a teenager,” Lins said. “In the beginning of my career my motivation came from living out my dream, but now my motivation has changed. Now that I’m married and have a daughter, my motivation is my family.”

The Brazilian has only fought eight times dating back to his professional debut in 2005, but he has hopes for a more active schedule now that he’s with Bellator MMA. If he can fight his way through the tournament, that would mean several bouts in a short window and in turn, more paydays for his family.

Lins (8-0 MMA, 1-0 BMMA) has no shortage of motivation going into Friday’s bout against Austen Heidlage (7-0 MMA, 0-0 BMMA), which airs on Spike TV following prelims on MMAjunkie, from inside the Winstar World Casino in Thackerville, Okla.

“Once I step inside that cage I become the monste,” Lins said. “I am a beast. That’s what separates me from my opposition. I came to Bellator to get a belt around my waist and that’s exactly what I plan to do.”

Lins knows it’s a long road through the Bellator tournament, and if he wins, things don’t get any easier with names like Emanuel Newton, Muhammed Lawal, Quinton Jackson and Tito Ortiz at the top of the division.

Those are the type of opponents Lins aspires to day compete against, but for now, he must first dispatch of Heidlage.
“This is the biggest opportunity of my life,” Lins said. “I need this and my family needs this. I quit my job to focus on this tournament so everything is on the line. I’m coming into this tournament to change everything for me and my family. I will become a world champion!”

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